What’s this new fancy word you’ve been hearing floating around the football industry, you ask? A ‘performance analyst’ is someone who lives and breathes the tactical and analytical side of the game, who may not even ever enter the football pitch itself. They are interested in analyzing anything that has to do with performance, whether that be through quantitative (such as data, statistics, numbers, etc.) or qualitative means (opinion-based insights).
Embed from Getty ImagesThat can extend beyond just performance on the pitch, to include training methods, player psychology, fitness and endurance, and pre-match preparations. It can also extend beyond just your typical pre-match opposition and post-match game reports, to scouting and recruitment, data analysis, player analysis, and more. Performance analysts are jacks of all trades, who need to be highly skilled in areas beyond just footballing knowledge, including presentation design and facilitation, video editing, communication skills, and mathematical competence.
If a performance analyst can check off even half of these boxes, they will well be on their way toward the main goal at hand. What is that, you ask? It’s a fair question. Why have a performance analyst, devoted and dedicated to something that the manager or assistant coaches may be fully capable of handling on their own? Well, when the right person finds the right role, the use of performance analysis can enhance a coach/manager’s knowledge of their own team and how to achieve success, and can also greatly benefit individual players in their ability to perform and reach new levels. Adam David of Maccabi Haifa FC appeared on the Modern Soccer Coach Podcast a few years ago, detailing how he tailors his analysis to suit the individual’s own needs and desires. Some players prefer to know everything about their opposition and how to cope with the individual battles they are about to face, whereas others prefer to go in blind, and feel the game out as it evolves.
Embed from Getty ImagesIf you want to distill and remove bias all the more, you can even have a performance analyst who works remotely, and remains objective from the rest of the process. They can therefore offer up their (relatively) unbiased opinion as an outsider, without having the context of seeing the players week in and week out.
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INTRODUCTION TO FOOTBALL ANALYSIS – AN ONLINE COURSE WITH RHYS DESMOND
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Do you want to work in football analysis, either for a website or professional club? Do you want to enhance your tactical and analytical understanding, and develop your craft on the quest to becoming a football expert? Then this course is for you! Course attendees will achieve the following rewards and benefits!
-> Develop a greater understanding of football tactics, and the various forms of analysis.
-> Learn strategies for conducting top-tier football analysis, and how to separate yourself from the pack in creating insightful pieces in performance analysis, scouting & recruitment, match analysis and data analysis.
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